RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government is to bid 700
million reais (385 million U.S. dollars) for the concession of a space orbit
strategic to South America, an official said Monday.
"We need that orbital position," said Helio Costa, Brazil's Minister of
Telecommunications, in an interview with a local newspaper Monday.
Costa will have a meeting Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, with
representatives from Colombia, Bolivia and Peru to solve the impasse concerning
the concession of the so-called orbit 68.
The meeting is to be convened by the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU).
The exploitation of the orbit was conceded to the Andean countries seven
years ago. However, they had to launch a satellite by Sept. 2007 in order to
keep the concession, which they failed to accomplish, said the minister.
According to international rules on space exploration, other countries
could bid for the orbit if the deadline expires.
But Colombia, Peru and Bolivia are struggling for a time extension, which
they claimed would allow them to launch their own satellite.
Other countries have also demonstrated an interest in the orbit.
In a partnership with Uruguay, Venezuela is seeking authorization from the
ITU to launch into the orbit its first Simon Bolivar satellite, said the
newspaper.
